


Recreating the Moment

by mcgarrygirl78



Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-04-20
Updated: 2008-04-20
Packaged: 2019-05-31 07:19:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15114494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: "You are the Vice President of the United States; no one controls your story."





	Recreating the Moment

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

“Oh, oh, oh yeah, mmm baby, yeah, oh baby yeah, ohhh, oh yeah…OW!”

“Are you alright?” CJ asked.

“No. That really hurt.”

“The good ones hurt sometimes Leopold. Just relax.”

“Please don’t do that again. Seriously, it hurt.”

“Didn’t you storm the beaches of Normandy with Ike? It’s just a massage; don’t be a baby. You are going to have to surrender. I know exactly what I'm doing and I would never hurt you.”

“Claudia Jean…”

“Do you trust me?” she asked, gently pushing his head down until his cheek was back on the pillow.

“Mmm hmm.”

“Implicitly?”

“Yes, though that sounds like a question asked before you kill someone.”

“Killing the Vice-President of the United States carries a pretty hefty punishment.” CJ replied, going back to her massage.

“You’ve put some thought into this Ms. Cregg?”

“No more than usual.”

“You could just make it look like an accident.”

“There is that. I would need help though; Charlie would come if I called.”

“He is not going to help you kill me.” Leo reasoned.

“You would already be dead. He would do the heavy lifting and help me cover up the crime. Tell me how that feels, Mr. Vice-President.”

“Mmm, so good baby.”

“That is exactly where it hurt a few minutes before. Relax, and take some deep breaths.”

Leo did as she asked. Soon he felt as if his entire body levitated from the mattress. She had the magic touch.

“I am prescribing a deep tissue massage for you once a month.” CJ said. “It would make you a whole new man. For once someone should put their energy into giving to you instead of the other way around.”

“Annabeth and I had a chat the other day.” Leo murmured.

“What did you and your Press Secretary discuss?”

“She wanted to talk again about the pictures in OK Magazine.”

“Are you serious Leo? It is not a story anymore; you and I both know that. In the era of 24 hours news, TMZ, Google alerts, and OMG, something better happened 10 minutes after it hit newsstands.”

Two weeks ago, the Vice-President and CJ made their first appearance in a tabloid. They were at a Washington Wizards game enjoying the luxury skybox. There were a series of four photos; CJ still tried to figure out who took them and how. In the first, CJ is cheering, Leo then leans in to confer, CJ cuddles close, and finally they share a tender kiss.

“I am your official White House escort, for lack of a better term. It is a matter of public record. We have also been friends for almost a decade. You have already stated you are not going to comment on your personal life at the present. I stated the same and its over.”

“Annabeth says they are harassing her.”

“Are you sure this is the press and not just Annabeth?” CJ asked.

“I'm not following.”

“Oh c’mon Leo.” CJ stopped her massage, climbing off him and onto the mattress.

He missed her touch but took a deep breath and sat up. He had known CJ long enough to be acquainted with every one of her faces. The one he was looking at clearly stated that she was peeved. Leo did not think she should ever have that face while wearing a tee shirt and a pair of skimpy panties.

“What?” he asked.

“You know that Annabeth has some kind of…”

“She does not have feelings for me, Claudia Jean.”

“Please don’t interrupt me when I am talking.”

Leo apologized, yielding the floor to his companion. She was right; he was not her boss anymore. His say was no longer the final one.

“Annabeth has had a crush on you since the campaign. How many times did we joke about it when you were on the road? Look, if anything happened between the two of you it is certainly none of my business but it is clear from her behavior that she had more in mind than being your Press Secretary. You were an unmarried man who would frequently need a woman’s touch in your duties as Vice-President. She had to assume it would be her by default. Now its not.”

“Firstly, nothing ever happened between us. I would tell you if it had. Secondly, I'm with you but I don’t understand what you're getting at.”

“She’s jealous Leo, Jesus do you want me to beat you over the head with it? By telling you that it’s the press so interested in us she will get answers to all of her in-depth questions. She will know all that she needs to know about us. Leo, you are Vice-President of the United States; no one controls your story. In 10 days you are going to Paris to sit down with President Vasser. That needs to be the story. No offense, but she is a third rate Press Secretary if she can't make it so.”

Leo didn’t say anything for a while. Annabeth had asked him so many questions about CJ…he dodged most of them. As of Monday, he was going to tell her that France was the story. He was not going to discuss anything personal with her unless pertinent to his job. If any member of the press was so eager to know about his life, they could join the staff of OK Magazine and lose their White House press credentials.

“Is the press harassing you?” Leo asked.

“Not really. Greg called the other day; we’re speaking again. He asked and I deflected. Some of them are my friends but there is nothing to comment on as far as I'm concerned.”

“Why aren’t you coming to Paris with me, Claudia Jean?”

“I'm sorry?”

Leo smiled, moving closer on the bed and sliding his arms around her. He wanted to change the subject. It was Friday night, they were alone, and half-dressed. If the Vice-President had his way the half-dressed portion of the evening would be over soon.

“Come to Paris with me.”

“I thought you wanted the press to stop speculating.”

“We both know that is never going to happen. You just said that your being my escort is a matter of public record. As such we can travel anywhere in the world together when I am doing my duties as Vice-President of the United States. But that’s the boring answer.”

“What's the fun answer?”

“Five star hotels, parties, party dresses, silk sheets, romance, and the City of Lights.”

“Mmm,” she pulled him closer. “That is so tempting.”

“Just say yes.” Leo whispered.

“I can't.”

“Why not?”

“Because I have a very important job and leaving it behind is improbable. I'm pushing it aside just to be with you now and we’re in DC. I will get my chance to climb aboard Air Force Two one of these days.”

“You certainly will.” He kissed her. “We could solve this whole issue with our personal lives if we got married.”

“Are you kidding? I can't believe you would even say such a thing. I love you Leo but that kind of thing is not in the cards right now. I won't even think about while you are Vice-President and I'm trying to get this foundation off the ground. I don’t want to fight about it because we would definitely fight about it. The subject has the potential to be quite explosive.”

Leo covered her mouth when she was about to speak again.

“Do you know what you just said?” he asked, moving his hand.

“When? Which part? What did I say?”

“You said ‘I love you Leo but that kind of thing is not in the cards right now’.”

“I said that?”

“That is a direct quote.”

“Hmm. Well um, OK.”

“OK?”

“Yeah, well I guess I said it. You directly quoted me and all.”

“Claudia Jean, you're babbling.”

“I didn’t mean…”

“You didn’t mean it?”

“That was not what I was going to say. I wouldn’t say…Leo, I…”

“I love you too.”

“Oh Leo.”

They embraced, holding tight to each other. CJ tried to breathe but it was difficult. She pulled away from him; got up from the bed altogether. Pacing the floor helped her get her bearings. The Vice-President watched the strange display with a combination of confusion and amusement.

“Are you alright?”

“That was it; that was the moment. I almost missed it. Actually, I did miss it and you can't recreate it. Instead of butterflies in my belly it feels like a rock. It came out as a Freudian slip instead of the grand gesture it should have been. And dammit, why didn’t you say it first?”

“Because I was too afraid you would reject me.” Leo replied.

“How many times do I have to tell you that I am not going to reject you?”

“Probably a trillion though you’ve never said it once.”

“Well I shouldn’t have to say it. Actions speak louder than words. Though you can now consider it said if that’s what you'd like.”

“Agreed. C’mere.”

CJ smiled. She moved back to the bed, straddling him and wrapping her arms around his neck.

“Can we do it again?” she asked. “You know just because my overactive imagination had a better scenario than accidental.”

“And I said it first, right?”

“Mmm hmm.”

When she smiled Leo felt the butterflies that CJ believed she lacked.

“I love you, Claudia Jean.”

“I love you too.”

“I want you to come to Paris with me.”

“I can't. I can go on the Ottawa trip over Thanksgiving though.”

“How can you have my schedule down to a science and not be my wife?” Leo asked.

“It’s a girl thing.”

“I think it might just be a CJ thing.”

“I will own that.” she ran her fingers through his hair. “I never finished your massage.”

“Really? Then why do I feel so at peace right now? Everything is better with you.”

“Its called the honeymoon phase.”

“I thought I was the cynic in this relationship. How about this, baby? We issue a statement declaring we are in a relationship. We say that we want our privacy and do not plan to answer any questions about our personal lives. There will be more photographs, blurbs, and speculations but we could not stop that even if we wanted to.”

“If we can't stop it then what is the point of a statement?” CJ asked.

“Clarity. Not for us but for anyone else who thinks otherwise. I am not spinning a damn thing…our life is our business. I just don’t plan to make any moves concerning us without discussing it with you first.”

It was the middle of October and they were already an ‘us’. CJ had no idea why that didn’t make her feel nervous, or at least nauseous. She smiled. It grew even bigger when Leo pulled the Bartlet for America tee shirt over her head. He gently cupped and stroked her breasts. She had goose bumps all over, trembling as he bent to kiss the soft, fragrant skin.

“Mmm, you smell so good baby. You taste so damn good.”

“Do I?”

“I hope that’s a rhetorical question.” Leo rolled them on the mattress, his lover laughing because somehow her long legs weren’t tangled or mangled in the flip over. “You are the most beautiful creature on the face of the planet…you look good, smell good, taste good; everything. I love you madly and want you to be my wife.”

“Stop it Leopold.” CJ replied, caressing his face.

“Let me indulge in my fantasy for one night.”

“Its not a fantasy…I'm here Leo.”

He kissed her passionately, sliding her out of her panties before throwing the covers over them. As they made love, CJ thought about what it might be like to be his wife. She was upset to think there might be bad times. The crazy thoughts in her head contradicted the wonderful things Leo did to her body. Her orgasm was practically ineffectual. That was even more upsetting.

“What's the matter CJ?” Leo asked afterward, taking her into his arms.

“Nothing.”

“I went too far, didn’t I?”

“What do you mean?” CJ sat up some, resting her chin on his chest.

“I should not be pressuring you on the issue of marriage. I just…it pisses me off that we cannot be together without an audience.”

“Ditto. But you didn’t go too far.”

“Are you sure?”

“You should know me by know Leo McGarry.” She cuddled close again. “I would let you know if I was dissatisfied. I am not.”

“Alright.” Leo kissed her forehead. “All I want is for you to be happy.”

“Mission accomplished tonight. Don’t think though that I don’t have Second Lady fantasies.”

“Fantasies? Are you wearing high heels in these fantasies?”

“If only people knew what a dirty old man you were.”

“You know I'm sexy.”

CJ laughed and it captured Leo. They were both laughing before she kissed him.

“You are something, Leo McGarry, something very special. Goodnight.”

“Sweet dreams, Claudia Jean.”

He loved falling asleep holding her in his arms. For his entire life Leo had trouble sleeping but it never seemed that way when they were together. He was comfortable, at ease, even at peace. He wanted to marry her. Her apprehension did not surprise him. CJ had never been married and he was not exactly perfect husband material. She also did not want to be the Second Lady of the United States. The idea of waiting four years was not very appealing …he’d already waited practically a decade. At least she would be in his arms when he awoke the next morning. That thought carried Vice-President McGarry to his dreams.

***


End file.
